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Topic Review (Newest First)

05-30-2002 07:16 AM

newbiefish

I would think with a size 28, you could use some olive thread and put one fiber of dubbing on it, take one wrap of thread, then use a half hitch to finish, and tell people it's a blue winged olive with a z-lon shuck tail, duck quill wings, and medium dun hackle.

"I hate trying to thread tippet on those size 20s to the hook. That is an art in itself."

You think thats hard?! You should try to get your tippet through the eye of a size 16 I've tied--with all the smashed hackle covering the eye there isn't much of a prayer. I've tried cutting it away with an exacto knife but I always cut my thread. I wonder if you can burn it off, or will my whole fly go up in smoke?

05-30-2002 01:50 AM

sean

I meant 24s with 10/0 thread and that was pushing my tying abilities for some micro midges I was trying to match. Come to think of it they never worked. I think the standard jaws on the traveller are too bulky to do a 28 but I think they sell midge jaws that would work for a 28. I have yet to read AKs book so my hand position is probably way wrong but I get the job done(depending who you ask).

The lowest I go for trout patterns is a 20 but I try and get away with 18s and bigger as I hate trying to thread tippet on those size 20s to the hook. That is an art in itself .

-sean

05-29-2002 11:21 PM

newbiefish

I have the cam version and the lever to close the jaws is not a problem, and I don't think the screw version would be a problem either because that screw is away from the jaw tips. Even though the size adjustment knob is small, it's positioned near the tip of the jaws, and if you look at A.K. Best's new book "Advanced Fly Tying" he has a chapter on hand position, and there is no way you can get your hand in the proper position with the screw in the way. Now, I don't know anything about hand position because I am a beginner, but that screw gets in my way when I try to place materials, and it catches my thread sometimes. With the knob on the back of the jaws, I think it's just as easy to adjust the hook size with either hand, and if you feel that's awkward, you can always use the rotary function and rotate the vise to adjust the knob. I don't think adjusting for hook size is a big deal however it's done, and I'd rather have an easier time tying.

Anyway, I just want the next person who is considering buying a Traveler to consider the option of buying an opposite hand model, so that when it's orientated for their dominant hand, the knobs will be on the back making the front of the jaws a smooth surface and improving hook access. Maybe when I get more experienced placing material I will be able to work around the screw, but right now for me it's a problem, and I noticed it my very first time tying, so I thought I'd post what my experience was.

You tie down to 28's??!! Wow! I can't imagine that. What size thread do you use? I saw some pros using 14/0 they say is as strong as 6/0, and they were using it on #4 hooks.

05-29-2002 05:38 PM

sean

Hmm I do not have the problem you are experiencing. The adjustment knob is really small and the lever to tighten the jaws is underneath so it is not a problem. Do you have the screw clamp or the lever cam type. I guess I could see a problem if you have the screw tension knob instead of the lever.

Putting them in back would not make adjusting the thing all that easy. I can tie down to 28s if I wanted to without a problem of things getting in the way.

-sean

05-29-2002 05:25 PM

newbiefish

I was looking at a left handed Renzetti Traveler today, and I realized that a right handed Traveler with a left handed shaft is actually identical to a left handed model, so if you are right handed I recommend you get a left handed model, and if you are left handed, I recommend you get a right handed model. When you set it up with the vice properly orientated--presto!--the knobs will all be on the back and out of your way and everything else will be the same.

05-29-2002 12:11 AM

newbiefish

Renzetti said they sell the left handed shafts for the vises for $18. If you put that on a right handed model the adjustment knobs on the clamp will be on the back of the vise, and everything else will be the same. If you order a right handed vise, I recommend asking them to swap you a left handed shaft.

I can't believe they don't sell them like that to begin with.

05-27-2002 05:16 AM

newbiefish

I ended up purchasing a Renzetti Traveler(cam) with a pedestal base. The rotary function is nice just to clip material and check proportions. I realized after a couple of days, I hadn't really used the rotary function, so I put some ribbing on with it--nice and easy and no switching hands on every wrap. Also, the whole problem with locking out the rotary function I mentioned doesn't seem to be relevant: why do you ever need to lock it out? You can still use it like a stationary vise when its in rotary mode. So, my initial impressions were very good.

However, now I am starting to have some problems. When I am tying, I always rub against the knob that locks out the rotary movement and it comes unscrewed and falls out. It's no big deal since I haven't found a need to lock out the rotary movement, so I unscrewed the knob and put it aside. The biggest problem I am having is with the hook size adjustment knob. It's right near the point of the jaws and always seems to get in the way of my thumb when I am trying to place and tie in materials. I also catch my thread on the knob sometimes. I don't understand why both those knobs aren't on the back of the vise instead: you could still reach them easily with either hand, and then they wouldn't be in the way.

I've been tying size 16's and I can't imaging trying to place material on smaller hooks with the hook size adjustment screw in the way of my thumb. Does anyone have similar problems? Any solutions?

05-15-2002 10:18 AM

DFix

That item is more geared to the small electronics world, advertised in catalogs as such, so forth...if that guy on ebay can sell that to someone as a fly vise, though it's universal applications are evident - more power to him.

05-15-2002 06:45 AM

pmflyfisher

Cool, marvelous bit of canuck engineering there I must say.

You know what I bet it works. I tied a lot of flies with first vice a Thompson A which is still sold. Really don't need a super elaborate one for basic flies IMHO.

:hehe:

05-15-2002 02:45 AM

newbiefish

I finally purchased a vise. I didn't go with the Renzetti or the Dyna-King. I decided to go with the best of the best:

Thanks for the great link on the rotary thread. I wish some of the local shops carried the HMH Spartan so I could check it out. It's supposed to have great "hook access" for smaller flies. Has anyone with a Renzetti Traveler tied small trout flies? Is "hook access" a problem? How about with the Dyna-King Kingfisher?

05-14-2002 09:22 AM

John Desjardins

Okay a couple of answers:

The top choices in the $100-200 range in the fly fisherman article were the Dynaking ??? (Grr my memory deserted me) and the HMH Spartan.

Stability with a pedestal vise hasn't been a problem for me. I used a Cabelas base on a cheap import vise for ~ 10 years until I replaced it with a Renzetti traveller cam on a pedestal last year. Neither one gave me a stability problem, though after for the last couple of years hooks did pop out of the cheap vise under heavy tension.
If I had to do it again I would still start out with a cheap vise.

What the rotary vise does when putting hackle on is it allows you to see where the hackle is being put down. With out the rotary 1/2 of the hackle is put on the fly where you can not see it. Here is a link to a thread last year on the topic.

05-14-2002 12:44 AM

newbiefish

How does the true rotary function of a vise work in practice? Let's say I am going put some hackle on a fly. I tie it in, and now I decide to use the rotary function to wrap the hackle around the shank so the hackle doesn't twist (is it hard to keep it from twisting if you wrap it around the shank with hackle pliers?) I hang the bobbin on the bobbin hanger, and I start rotating the fly to feed the hackle onto it. What happens to the thread? Won't it twist around the fly too (or untwist)?

If you have a vise with a C-clamp isn't it a little awkward tying at the edge of a table with nothing underneath the vise? Is stability with a pedestal a big problem?

05-13-2002 01:02 PM

striblue

I was just compareing the Anvil with the Dynaking... love the Traveler, but need to replace the Jaws with the Cam. Also... I can't think of a better Vice than the Renzetti ,especially the Master.. It's alot of money.. but I knew I would be tying for a while so went all the way. I did b te Traveler at first and will still use it... The Master ,as I said before, will stay at home.

05-13-2002 11:47 AM

newbiefish

The Fly Fisherman website leaves out the key reviews for vises. Instead it says to see the February issue "on sale now", which of course none of the local fly shops carry anymore.

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